With the Fourth of July coming this weekend, here’s a cute (and easy) way to dress up your summer celebration! The lovely Kathleen of Twig and Thistle created this last summer, and it’s definitely worth using again and again. So cute! Downloads and directions can be found here.

Happy DIY’ing!

We’re back for one more Giveaway Tuesday! This has been so much fun to share some of my favorite things with you, and this week is no exception.

I’ve talked several times about how I love decorating with cameras–having them around our home is an extension of my heart and the things I love. (I’m a big fan of surrounding yourself in your home with not only beautiful things, but ones that speak to who you are, just as much as what you like.) Unfortunately my favorite poster isn’t available anymore, so I found the next best thing! It’s a lovely little set of eight notecards with vintage cameras from The Craft Pantry on etsy.

And who doesn’t love iTunes? I’m a big fan. (especially with my new iPhone 4 and some sweet new apps.) So here’s a little $15 lovin’ to freshen up your library.

How to enter, you ask? Simple…

1. Leave a comment (seriously, it’s that easy)
2. Tweet about it! (And then come back and leave a comment)
3. Facebook about it! (And then come back and leave a comment)
4. Blog about it! (And then come back and leave a comment)

Each comment earns one entry. Entries close Friday, July 2 at Midnight CDT. Winner will be chosen by random.org and announced Monday, July 5!

Good luck!

For more inspiration, ideas + images, subscribe to the feed!

I’m super, suuuuuper excited to share this with you. Next week we’ll be in Okoboji, Iowa, and I’m offering mini portrait sessions for only a handful of evenings. These mini-sessions are an hour long in the evenings with lots of yummy natural light, maybe an ice cream cone or two, and always laid-back and fun–just like life at the lake should be.

They’re going lightning-fast, so hop to it and get the best of the available sessions! It’s a great opportunity to think ahead for the holidays or freshening up your portraits around the lake house.

Contact me for more details and available dates/times :: info {at} cathymoresphotography {dot} com

Melia and Ryan were brought together by a friend. She said, oh, I don’t know… and he said, okay, I guess, when asked if each would like to meet the other. After that first evening among friends, their tune changed. And fast. Suddenly they were spending time between classes together. Time among friends together. Dinner, studying, hanging out. Together.

And then he asked one evening. I want to be together forever with you. What she thought was maybe a new handbag (ahem, a girl after my own heart) was a box. With a beautiful ring inside.

We got together recently at the Kansas State University campus, and a few other favorite locations, to celebrate the moments that brought them together. And while honoring what brought them to this point in their lives, we had a little fun, too, on a toasty summer evening. (okay, really hot and muggy. But these two rocked it anyway!)

Melia’s doctorate program means she spends a lot of time here…

And Ryan spends a lot of time doing this ::

I love these sweet moments. And hello, lovely light…

So much fun. So, so much fun.

I’m so honored and excited to be photographing their wedding this fall — seeing them together and being able to document the day that they commit to being together forever is a privilege. Thanks, you two!

I was having a moment today. A moment that set me in my place. Needing a distraction, I opened my Google Reader and came across this from Justin and Mary Marantz. Words so beautifully spoken, straight from and to the heart.

• • • • •

It takes courage to chase a dream.

Raw, unfettered, lion-hearted, caution to the wind….courage. It takes confidence and patience and perseverance too. And lest we forget…there will be tears. Whether proverbial or actual, we shed our blood, sweat and tears in pursuit of these dreams. We give our everything. And then we give more. Frustration. Failure. Fight for it and Forward. It takes all these things to chase a dream.

But the greatest of these…is love.

Because when the courage waivers and the confidence is all but gone, love remains. When frustration trumps forward, and there are more tears than you knew possible….love is the one to say get up, dust yourself off, and try it again.

Today I hope you look at your dreams with love. It takes love to say “I have so far to go and so much left to learn, but just for today I’m going to be thankful for all that I’ve already learned. And give honor to the miles I’ve already come. ” It takes love to stare down fear in the face and put yourself out there. To be weak, to be vulnerable, to ask questions. To grow. It takes love to look at yourself and your dreams with compassion, and say to yourself: Fight for it and Forward.

Today I hope you live in love. Because trust me, it is the stuff that dreams are made of.

My little man turns 4 today. For some reason I’m so much more emotional about this birthday than the others, for some reason–I think the realization is finally settling in that he is 1) ALL boy, and 2) 100% big kid. Nevertheless we celebrated big yesterday with a pool party and he ate. up. every. minute.

The party continues tonight with dinner at his favorite hangout and lots of hugs, kisses and ice cream (dairy-free for me!).

Love you, little man. You’ve blessed our lives in ways we could only have dreamed of.

Congratulations to Carrie! You’re the winner of the Pantone/Starbucks giveaway! (And you are too sweet–thanks for your kind words!)

More chances to win coming soon!

Happy Monday!